Commercial type floor treatment apparatus are known, such as floor polishing machines. These machines, being heavy duty, have a considerable amount of weight and when the machines are on the floor with the handle in a vertical or storage or transportation position with the power cord plugged into the outlet, a safety hazard arises in that the machine can be inadvertently started, either accidentally, or on purpose, by the operation of a trigger mechanism. When this happens the machine often becomes out of control and moves across the floor to injure persons by coming in contact with them. In order to overcome this safety hazard, the present floor treatment machine is provided with a trigger that actuates a negative pressure microswitch adjacent to the handle of the device and a safety switch. Since the trigger mechanism is spring loaded, when it is released, it engages the microswitch to turn the same off. However, starting up of the machine is relatively simple, but may be hazardous. The trigger, which can be activated on both sides of the handle of the machine, together with the handle are merely squeezed, and the machine commences to operate. In order to overcome the above-described hazard, during start-up, an additional manual operation must be performed before the machine can be safely turned on.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety switch for a floor treatment apparatus in which the machine operator has to manually rotate the safety switch until the lugs thereon clear the trigger so that the machine is capable of being started from either side of the handle. Thereafter, the operator must keep the trigger actuated because once he releases the trigger, the machine automatically stops, since the microswitch is turned off.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide a safety switch that is in a location adjacent to the handle and trigger elements of the floor treatment apparatus and can be operated by the thumb of the machine operator.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel safety switch for floor treatment apparatus which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and is reliably effective for the purposes intended.
It is a further object of the present invention to incorporate the present safety switch in the existing control housing of floor treatment apparatus .